Don’t Call It a RomCom! Maligned Genre Is Coming Back

They prefer to be called "relationship shows"

What’s love got to do with it? Apparently, everything, when it comes to TV.

Romantic comedies may be dead at the movies, but on television, suddenly, the genre is thriving. Or, at least, trying to. But don’t call shows on the air or coming soon “romcoms” — the preference is to refer to them as “relationship shows” so that visions of that last cinematic disaster you experienced doesn’t creep into your mind.

Marketing ploy? Maybe, but it’s also not unreasonable. Tales of love and romance are a tough sell in this age of brooding anti-heroes and sarcastic, narcissistic protagonists…